Bad smell coming from nose. Why do I have a rotten, gassy smell?

Posted by freshstrawberry @freshstrawberry, Jan 8 1:48am

I caught covid during december 2023 and i lost all tasttr and smell for like two weeks and then it magically came back , i started getting alot of mucus and started tonsil stones and it gave me sort of bad breath but nothing crazy and it wasnt room filling or anything only one occasion someone sitting next to me asked who farted but i didnt smell anything? I took different antibiotics like amoxicillin and phenoxymethylpenicillin on like three different occasions. None of them helped . Later on i developed like a thick white coating on my tounge , also it seemed even though i was removing tonsil stones everyday the smell stayed the same. During 2024 i got a chest infection and had to be on another set on antibiotics which caused me having to spit out mucus( tmi) literally every 2 seconds and i couldn’t go to school, i also got an ear infection and had to also get antibiotics for it . Early 2025 i still had the white tounge and slight bad breath nothing crazy but i also developed really bad constipation, fatigue and brain fog and i literally had no energy to do anything but i just went on with life anyways.

Everything was sort of fine until around September 11 after my 18th birthday , a few days before i tried using baking soda and toothpaste to scrub off the white tounge and also tried hydrogen peroxide rinses like maybe once or twice . After that i didnt really have bad breath until a few days later in class i noticed people covering their noses , saying it smells ect and i couldnt smell anything at that time either. Told my parents , went to the gp obviously nobody believed me about the smell even though the gp sat there with his hand covering his nose and he told me it might be acid reflux and prescribed me omeprazole. That helped with the bad taste in my mouth but the smell is still there , it smells like vinegar and i can only really smell it outside , ppl literally cough , take off their glasses because their eyes water and have to drink water ect. Its so embarrassing especially having to go to school everyday and my parents dont believe theirs a smell at all, it only comes from my nose because when i dont exhale through my nose i get no reactions at all , i also have pnd , enlarged turbinates , nasal polyps , tonsil stones . Ive tried doxycycline and it worked for like a month , all symptoms cleared and no reactions but then the smell came back again . Ive also tried biofilm disruptors, oregano oil and betain hcl they also helped for like a month but the smell came back again , nasal sprays steroid and saline , neti pot , humidifiers , digestive enzymes. Its literally like a curse because my family cant smell it and they think im crazy.

Also , yesterday i took activated charcoal and i can literally smell what others are smelling now its like a rotten gassy smell . I wish it was just like an anxiety thing and that im imagining peoples reactions but even when im relaxed the smells still there. I have no body odour either , sometimes after ive eaten my hands would smell like onions or garbage? Idk if thats related to the issue.

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Profile picture for jsccbly @jsccbly

The thick white coating you say you had on your tongue sounds like a yeast infection and you need to be treated for thrush, I am sure with the doctors you have seen would have immediately thought of this if they thought it was thrush. The multiple use of antibiotics can help cause thrush, creating bad breath.

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I gotta agree here the first thing I thought of was thrush. Keep pushing for an answer. So frustrating to have an issue like this.

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My daughter has had that . I have smelled it on her.
It could be a sinus issue. I'm not talking infection. She has lots of allergies and that really effects her sinuses.
Have you tried doing daily neti pot irrigations to clean out your sinuses.

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Hey brother
I have the same problem nowadays
Please tell me if you got a solution

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Every once in a while I get to smelling car exhaust fumes when there is no cars or trucks around..This is inside my home.

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I'm wondering if you have laryngeal (silent) reflux. Stomach acid will travel all the way up to the sinuses, mimicking a sinus infection. Especially when eating foods that trigger the reflux. For me, is it's anything tomato, fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce etc. Also caffeine, chocolate, onions and garlic. The sinuses react to the reflux like a infection. Excessive mucus, horrible taste in mouth and bad breath. If this is laryngeal (silent reflux, because there's no heartburn) reflux, you may be unknowingly exposing yourself constantly to any one of your "triggers". In my case, and so many others, Omeprazole didn't help. Identifying your triggers is key. Using famotidine after every meal and at bed time. Gaviscon from Great Britain, ordered through Amazon because the US version lacks the effective ingredient. Using nasal spray like azelestine (astapro, over the counter). Guaifenesin tablets, 1200 mg, every 12 hours to thin mucus, over the counter. If this is indeed, laryngeal reflux, finding and identifying your triggers is key. Talk to your ENT about this. Accept nothing short of being understood. Also, check out Dr. Jamie Kaufman. Good luck. I wish you the best.

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